Uterine polyps

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Treatments and drugs

By Mayo Clinic staff

Possible treatments for uterine polyps include:

  • Watchful waiting. Small, asymptomatic polyps may resolve on their own. Treatment is unnecessary unless you're at risk of uterine (endometrial) cancer.
  • Medication. Certain hormonal medications, including progestins and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, may shrink a uterine polyp and lessen symptoms. But taking such medications is usually a short-term solution at best — symptoms typically recur once you stop taking the medicine.
  • Surgical removal (excision). If you undergo hysteroscopy, instruments inserted through the hysteroscope — the device your doctor uses to see inside your uterus — make it possible to cut away and remove polyps once they're identified. The removed polyp may be sent to a laboratory for microscopic examination.
  • Hysterectomy. If closer examination reveals that a uterine polyp contains cancerous cells, surgery to remove your uterus (hysterectomy) becomes necessary.

Uterine polyps, once removed, can recur. It's possible that you might need to undergo treatment more than once if you experience recurring uterine polyps.

DS00699

April 25, 2008

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